Falkirk marketing firm gains Net Zero status

Falkirk-based Crunchy Carrots, a specialist digital marketing firm, achieved Net Zero status after its founder and managing director received advice, support, and signposting to funding worth over £14,000 from Business Gateway and DigitalBoost, Scotland’s national digital upskilling programme.

Crunchy Carrots is a one-stop-shop for web design and branding, with expertise in UX, UI, design, social media, and visual imaging.

While it is based in Falkirk, its network extends across Scotland’s central belt and into Edinburgh and Glasgow, helping small-to-medium enterprises market themselves online.

Crunchy Carrots’ managing director Scott Henderson initially approached Business Gateway in 2016 for help and advice on strategy planning and financial projections.

He said: “Business Gateway has been such a fantastic support since I started Crunchy Carrots. My adviser was always quick to respond to any questions I had despite

the challenges of the past couple of years, and this support has allowed us to access critical grant funding that has helped us become a carbon neutral business.

“I am very proud my business is now net-zero status, after we only embarked on this journey last year. I’ve no doubt this would have been far more challenging without

the support from Business Gateway.”

Having previously benefited from the Business Gateway service, Scott got back in touch after learning more about the move to net-zero following COP26, and wanted to find out how he could secure carbon neutral status.

Scott was then signposted to Zero Waste Scotland, who carried out a full energy audit and helped Scott to purchase an air source heat pump through the SME Loan Scheme, which successfully reduced the business’ carbon footprint by 75%.

Support from Business Gateway meant Scott was also introduced to experts from Strathclyde University, who helped him learn more about how to reduce the business’ carbon emissions and offsetting.

Sustainability is now close to the heart of Crunchy Carrots and Scott and his team regularly plant trees to offset emissions generated from their everyday work.

Lesley Pickles, of Business Gateway, said: “In today’s climate, achieving net-zero should be a priority for all businesses. It has been great to support Crunchy Carrots

throughout their journey and I look forward to seeing what their future holds.”